So...this is Earth.
Against the pitch blackness of space, the planet before him was a striking splash of color. An enormous orb of various colors with a blue halo of light surrounding it. Looking closer while floating in the silence of space, he could see some spots of light popping in and out of view. No doubt they represented violent activity, as creatures from the realm of Outworld have been making their way into this realm through mystical portals, setting off conflicts all over the world as the normal humans attempted to fight back in vain. Civilizations are being destroyed, people dying by the thousands.
He knew what that last part was like. After all, the spirit of Johnny Cage wouldn't be able to look down at Earth from orbit if he was still alive. He was the biggest movie star in the world. He was someone who represented Earthrealm in two Mortal Kombat tournaments...and he was killed by a half-man/half-horse motherfucker from Outworld who shoved a trident through his chest.
Johnny's soul continued to look out over Earth. He was looking at Asia. He'd filmed "Massive Strike" and parts of "Time Smashers" on location in Japan.
He glanced over at North America, and surprised himself by noticing how large the Pacific Ocean between the two continents is. Only took a few hours to cross it by jet. But yeah...it's huge. It all is. Almost makes a guy feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
He continued to stare at the planet in silence. It's beautiful, really. The mix of colors and the sheer scale of the thing...it's enough to blow your mind. Johnny wondered what it'd be like to see one of the bigger planets in the solar system, like Saturn or Jupiter or Krypton or something. He probably wouldn't be able to comprehend it.
Suddenly, a bright flash of white light out of the corner of his field of vision suddenly startled Johnny. He turned to look, and saw a familiar figure: standing tall, dressed in blue and white robes, wearing a black hood over his head, topped with a conical straw hat.
None other than Raiden, the god of thunder, and protector of Earthrealm.
"Oh, hey, Rai-dude!" Johnny said, in recognition.
The thunder god solemnly nodded in greeting.
"So...you come here often?" Johnny asked, with a smile.
Raiden nodded again, and spoke with a voice laced with authority, "Indeed."
"Uh, you wanna have a, er, seat?" Johnny motioned to the empty space next to him. Raiden showed the slightest hint of an amused smile as he hovered over to Johnny's side, legs tucked underneath him. Johnny floated into a sitting position and crossed his legs.
The two of them stared at the planet in silence for a few moments, before Johnny spoke.
"Really makes you think, doesn't it?"
"How so?"
Johnny sighed.
"Look, my dad was a small-time Hollywood exec, right? He thought I was gonna be his meal ticket. He just knew I was gonna hit it big in showbiz. He started me off in cereal commercials, then small roles on sitcoms, and next thing I know, I've got my own agent and personal assistant, relaying messages from Dad about how this next one was gonna be my big break.
"I was late to the set one day, and apologized to the director. Dad took me off that project for it. Not because I was late, mind you, but because I apologized! He felt humility was a sign of weakness. He'd always tell me 'hungry people eat lunch; humble people serve it. Which one are you gonna be, Johnny?'
"By then, we were in the late 70s and chop-socky kung-fu flicks were big. So I started training with a bunch of different teachers. They'd single me out for instruction before giving up, saying I had an 'attitude problem'. Then Dad hired Master Boyd, who taught me about chi, and that weird-ass green shadow energy I can do. Dad then fired him, saying that learning discipline was making me weak. Couldn't catch a break with the old man. But, I continued my lessons with Master Boyd in secret, and learned a lot.
"Then after a few years of that I did that movie 'The Gist of My Fist' in the early 80s, my first starring role. It turned out to be a surprise hit, and now I've got studios knocking down my door wanting to sign me for their action movies. And I feel like I did most of 'em: 'Dragon Fist I and II', '24 Karate Gold', '7 Poisons'...met a chick named, uh...shit. What was her n—Cindy! I met Cindy Ford on the set of 'Aquatic Assault' and we got married after shooting wrapped.
"I was everywhere. Movie screens, interviews on TV, magazine covers, t-shirts, billboards, cologne commercials, got an Oscar for 'Sudden Violence'...everywhere I went...there my sexy smiling face was, looking back at me. Had a chauffeured limo to take me everywhere, a huge mansion...man, the world was mine. Just like it was supposed to be...
"...and then the divorce happened. Cindy and I called it quits. The tabloids were all over it, of course. Then people started questioning everything about me: my acting, my charisma both on and off the screen, my sobriety, my martial arts abilities. Shit, I started getting less big roles, and was reduced to doing direct-to-video schlock like fucking 'Ninja Mime'. I was still everywhere, but now my name and face would usually have the word 'PHONY' next to it in all caps.
"That's why I went to Shang Tsung's tournament. To get a second chance at my career. Didn't expect that it was all a front for Outworld to take over Earth. And I ended up playing sidekick to Liu Kang and Sonya. Now, don't get me wrong, Liu's a good guy. Very noble, has that whole 'Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon' thing going on. He's probably the best fighter I've ever met, and he deserved to win the tournament. And Sonya, well..."
Johnny paused to smile.
"Well, we all know how I feel about blondes. Especially ones that can call me out on my bullshit and kick my ass when I deserve it.
"But I later turned that whole event into a movie, with me playing the part of the Shaolin monk who saves the world. So when the tournament in Outworld happened, I thought 'all right, here's my second chance to be the hero! Beat the evil emperor and rescue Sonya, who was reduced to a damsel-in-distress in the arena. Have the sequel be based on a true story!
"But no. I got to be the sidekick again. And now here I am, dead. Killed by a fucking minotaur with a pitchfork."
Raiden finally spoke. "Centaur."
"Oh, shit! Forgot you were here!" Johnny shouted.
"Motaro is a centaur." Raiden smiled slightly smiled again. "Not a minotaur."
Johnny nodded. "Y'know, you're a real good listener."
Raiden looked back at Earth. "I am a god. Most of my time is spent listening to prayers."
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."
Another moment passed in silence, before Raiden spoke. "You still haven't told me why you're up here, in your planet's orbit."
"Oh, right! Well, after I got skewered by Mr. Ed, my spirit was just floating around. So, I decided to take a trip around the world to see how other places are dealing with the invasion. And it's the same story everywhere: monsters from Outworld piling in, wrecking everything and innocent people getting killed left and right trying to fight 'em off. I even saw Sub-Zero and Scorpion in China throwing hands with what looked like...cyborgs?
"I...couldn't handle it anymore. I was overwhelmed. I had to get out. Away from the violence, from the noise. So...I went up. Just kept going up, higher and higher, letting the sound and the noise fade away. And once I got here...it was quiet.
"All my life, I've had people surrounding me, asking me questions, relaying messages, barking commands, yelling, growling, screaming...and no more. For the first time in my lif—uh, existence, I had silence. Peace and quiet. And just looking out over the planet...I got thinking. Probably for the first time.
"The world isn't mine any more. I might be the biggest movie star in the world, and a household name, but...the Earth is huge, man.
"I know, I know...'no shit, it's huge. There's almost 6 billion people on it'. But that's the thing. I'm just one guy. One stylish, charming, sexy guy, sure...but still just one guy. All this time, I've been thinking about how what I'm doing will affect me, and my career, and...I think I'm starting to realize...it's not about me. It's about them. The people on Earth. People that hate my movies. People that've never seen them. People that live in places that don't even have movies. People I've never met. People I'll never meet. People with their own lives to live that have NOTHING to do with me. Nearly. Six. Billion. People. Most of them don't know who I am. They probably never will. And y'know...I think I'm okay with that?"
Johnny paused for a moment. "It's not about me. It never has been."
Another moment passed in silence.
Johnny chuckled. "Man, even when I'm dead, I don't shut up."
Raiden smiled slightly. "When I first saw you on Shang Tsung's island, I saw..."
"A Hollywood douchebag with an ego the size of Elvira's bazongas?"
Raiden nodded. "...yes. But I saw something else: potential."
The thunder god continued. "The green energy within you is a result of your ancestors being warriors bred to serve the gods. But that's not where your potential lies. You showed mercy by refusing to finish your opponent at the end of your first tournament match. You showed a protective instinct by stopping to fight Goro as he pursued you and Sonya Blade."
Johnny grinned. "I punched that four-armed son of a bitch in the balls."
Raiden ignored the comment and continued, "You demonstrated courage and innovation when Baraka and his team of Tarkatans attacked the studio where you were filming."
Johnny nodded. "I think I stabbed one with a boom mic."
"You were the target of Motaro and his extermination squad because the emperor saw my chosen warriors as threats to his invasion. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Jackson Briggs...and you.
"I chose you for a reason. You might have an inflated ego, but...you have the heart of a hero."
Johnny frowned. "Had. I'm dead, remember? Though...I do wonder why I'm still in this realm and not shredding a wicked harp solo while sitting on a fluffy cloud right now."
Raiden looked back at the planet. "Due to the invasion, the realms are merging. It's blocked off access to the Heavens."
"Oh, I see..."
"I don't think you do." Raiden said, with a legitimate smile. "You can't ascend to the afterlife. You're getting a second chance."
–
The iconic skyline of Manhattan was recently changed with the addition of a massive, ancient fortress that rose from a portal in the ground a few days prior. The fortress seemed to be made of stone, topped with a roof that resembled a gigantic horned skull. This was the fortress of Shao Kahn, the emperor of Outworld.
A stone balcony jutted out from the wall, hundreds of feet up. The balcony was decorated with torches and a few statues of centaurs. Statues that resembled the half-man/half-horse figure standing on the balcony: Motaro. With a quick whip of his metallic tail, he sends a screaming woman towards the open area to fall to her doom, stopped only by her hitting the stone barrier on the edge of the balcony.
The woman is Lt. Sonya Blade, of the US Special Forces. She shakes her head to reorient herself, and began to pick herself up off the floor, only to look up and see the grinning, horned face of Motaro looking back at her.
Suddenly, she heard a dull "thwack", and Motaro's eyes widened. His back legs crossed and he fell onto his side with a whinnying whimper, before teleporting with a shimmering glow to the other side of the room to recover.
With the centaur out of the way, Sonya saw the smiling face of Johnny Cage, as he raises himself from the floor from a splits position. "You know me. I see a pair of ugly monster balls hanging in front of me, and I can't NOT give 'em a love tap. I can't help myself."
Sonya looked at Johnny in shock. Across his bare chest was a massive puncture scar, from where he'd been impaled on Motaro's trident. Tears welled up in her eyes. "You're back?"
"I'm back," said Johnny, with his usual cocky grin. "Did you miss me?"
Her face turned into a scowl. "Took you long enough, Cage. We've been having to bust our asses trying to get this situation under control, and we need all the help we can get. Even someone like you."
Johnny, still smiling, approached Sonya, and pulled off the blood-flecked sunglasses resting on top of her blonde head. He smiled more. "You missed me." Sonya returned with a smile of her own (and was that a slight blush?) quietly saying "Yeah, kinda."
The moment was interrupted by the hoarse roar of Motaro, who was now standing up straight in front of the couple, his tail raising to strike. Sonya cracked her knuckles as Johnny put his $500 sunglasses back on.
"Ready, Cage?"
"Like always."